Dundee United welcome Partick Thistle to Tannadice on Scottish Cup duty this weekend.
Ian Roache picks out four fabulous fixtures between the teams over the years that have stuck in the memory.
Partick 1 United 4
Championship: Saturday, January 11, 2020
United scorers: Shankland (38, 60, 65), Sporle (45)
This was all about Shanks as a masterclass from the United striker convinced everyone watching that the Tangerines were going up at last.
After so much hurt and disappointment, United finally looked like champions in waiting as they romped to this league victory at Firhill in front of 1,500 away supporters.
Lawrence Shankland stole the show with a hat-trick, the pick of the bunch his second and the team’s third goal.
He raced down the left, cut inside, moved a yard inside the box, ran across to his right then clipped a sublime strike low into the net.
Adrian Sporle got United’s other goal, while Kenny Miller grabbed a late consolation for Thistle.
Team: Siegrist, Watson (Pawlett 65), Reynolds, Connolly, Smith, Sporle, Glass (Mochrie 74), Powers, Appere, Shankland, Clark (King 77).
Partick 0 United 2
Scottish Cup fourth round: Saturday, January 9, 2010
Scorers: Casalinuovo (26), Goodwillie (90)
This Scottish Cup clash will be remembered for the Hand of Damian.
United’s Argentinian striker Casalinuovo helped a Garry Kenneth shot into the Thistle net to open the scoring for the visitors in the first half.
It was a clear handball but referee Dougie McDonald let the goal stand.
The Jags were furious but United continued to control the match and got a second right on the full-time whistle, when substitute David Goodwillie cut inside and shot home from a narrow angle.
United fans will have taken note that, 11 years on from that cup-winning campaign, there is every chance another Argentinian player, Adrian Sporle, might score against Thistle in the cup.
Team: Pernis, Webster, Kovacevic, Dixon, Kenneth, Conway, Gomis, Robertson (Swanson 80), Bauben, Daly (Goodwillie 70), Casalinuovo.
United 2 Thistle 1 aet (3-2 on aggregate)
Scottish Premier Division promotion play-off final, second leg: Thursday, May 16th, 1996
United scorers: Welsh (90), Coyle (115)
This was undoubtedly one of the most nerve-racking matches ever played at Tannadice, played in front of over 12,000 nail-biting fans.
The United supporters were put through the mill as the home players, managed by Billy Kirkwood, battled to try to get back to the then-Premier Division.
Having missed out on the First Division title to Dunfermline, the Tangerines found themselves in a two-legged play-off with Murdo MacLeod’s team.
The sides had fought out a 1-1 draw at Firhill four days earlier in the first leg, with Christian Dailly levelling for United with just four minutes to go after Andy Lyons had given Thistle a first-half lead.
That Dailly header seemed to have swung things United’s way but they found themselves behind at Tannadice with 72 minutes on the clock.
Partick sub Nicky Henderson was ruled to have been pushed to the ground by Brian Welsh in the box and Ian Cameron slotted home the spot kick.
The hosts kept fighting as the clock kept ticking, though, and equalised with under a minute remaining.
Andy McLaren, who had a brilliant match, managed to get a cross over from the right and the ball eventually spun up into the air in front of Welsh, who nodded it into the net to take the roof off the stadium.
Then, with just five minutes of extra-time remaining, Owen Coyle scored one of the most important goals in the club’s history when he met McLaren’s cross from the left and swept the ball past Jags keeper Nicky Walker.
Team: Maxwell, Shannon, Dailly, Pressley, McQuilken, Welsh, Bowman, McLaren, Winters (Johnson 117), Brewster (McKinnon 119), McSwegan (Coyle 83).
Partick 0 United 4
Premier League: Saturday, February 13, 1993
United scorers: Crabbe (1 pen), Connolly (65, 73), Ferguson (80)
This fixture is famous – or infamous – for one of the most ridiculous refereeing decisions in the history of Scottish football.
Les Mottram was the match official, who must have forgotten his glasses that day.
With the visitors 1-0 up thanks to Scott Crabbe’s first minute penalty, Duncan Ferguson powered in a header which goalkeeper Andy Murdoch parried just before the break.
The loose ball fell to Paddy Connolly, who hammered a shot into the Thistle goal and off a stanchion.
Remarkably, Mottram waved play on despite Partick defender Martin Clark catching the ball as it came out of the goal and handing it to his keeper.
Luckily for the ref, the blunder didn’t prove to be crucial as Connolly went on to score another twice and Ferguson rounded things off with a fourth.
Team: Main, Perry, Malpas, Narey, Clark, McKinlay, Bowman, O’Neill, Ferguson, Crabbe (Hannah 84), Connolly.
Dundee United v Partick Thistle: Where on TV can you watch Saturday’s Scottish Cup clash?